Attica

Melbourne, Australia

No.20

An exploration of Australian produce from the country’s top chef

What makes it special: Consistently ranked as The Best Restaurant in Australasia, Attica is the brainchild of chef Ben Shewry, originally hailing from New Zealand. In a discreet spot in Melbourne’s Ripponlea neighbourhood, he serves up an elaborate menu of fresh Australian produce in a cosy dining room and vegetable garden.

What’s on the menu? A meal at Attica takes diners through a series of dishes and ingredients that are unfamiliar to many Australians, let alone international gastronomes. Rather than foie gras, caviar or lobster, the chef serves his own version of luxury, including pearl cooked in paperbark, hand-picked crab with wattle bread, grilled marron with desert lime and even bunya bunya (Shewry’s favourite ingredient). Each course has its own colourful name, such as Our Vegemite, Our Salada, Tac’Oz and Pests of the Neighbourhood.

Some highlights: Among many other must-eat dishes on the menu is the whipped emu egg, served instead a large, open emu eggshell. Red kangaroo is another mainstay and the marron, similar to crayfish, is unmissable.